thrumirror.com A different way of seeing

Optical illusions & the art of seeing

Explore optical illusions, impossible objects and illusion art with pictures, viewing instructions and explanations. Follow the science and history behind each example, from classic visual puzzles to fractals and camouflage in nature and human design.

Ranked by everyone’s votes. Thumbs up adds 1; thumbs down subtracts 1. Select your vote again to remove it.

The collection

A black line drawing of a small drum illustrating the Risset rhythm audio demonstration.

Risset Rhythm

Jean-Claude Risset (1938 - 2016), French composer

You should experience the beat as constantly speeding up. This is only illusory.

Score 0
A black-and-white drawing of a woman at a dressing table; her reflection and the surrounding objects also form a skull.

All Is Vanity

Charles Allan Gilbert (1873 – 1929), American illustrator

You should experience a 'Gestalt switch' - a change - as your experience flips between being of a woman and being of a skull.

Score 0
A photograph of strawberries on a plate under a cyan tint, used to demonstrate colour constancy.

Grey strawberries

Akiyoshi Kitaoka, Professor of Psychology at Ritsumeikan University

You should have the experience of red strawberries in the picture, but the picture doesn't contain any red colour.

Score 0
A person crouches beside a colourful pavement painting that appears to open into a deep landscape.

Pandora

Tracy Lee Stum, an American artist

You should have the visual experience of a man riding a mythical bird. However, although the man is real, the bird is just a cleverly constructed 2D drawing on the pavement.

Score 0
Parallel long lines crossed by groups of short oblique hatch marks.

Zöllner illusion

Johann Karl Friedrich Zöllner

Short crossbars make parallel lines seem to diverge.

Score 0
People stand around a pavement painting of a deep, geometric architectural space at Herald Square.

Herald Square Celebration

Kurt Wenner (1958 –), an American artist

You should have the visual experience of giant people seeming to stand on top of buildings. However, although people are real, they are not giants and the buildings they seem to be…

Score 0
Four black-and-white striped squares with alternating horizontal and vertical orientations, used in the McCollough effect.

McCollough Effect

Celeste McCollough (1927 - 2023), American psychologist

The black and white test figure will have taken on an illusory tinge of colour - the horizontal white stripes appear tinged red, while the vertical stripes appear green.

Score 0
After the Hunt — Hunting equipment and game appear to hang against a real door.

After the Hunt

William Michael Harnett

Hunting equipment and game appear to hang against a real door.

Score 0
Helmholtz–Kohlrausch Effect — Saturated colors can appear brighter than equal-luminance gray.

Helmholtz–Kohlrausch Effect

Hermann von Helmholtz and V. A. Kohlrausch

Saturated colors can appear brighter than equal-luminance gray.

Score 0
Reutersvärd’s triangle — A triangle of blocks recalls Reutersvärd’s pioneering impossible figure.

Reutersvärd’s triangle

Oscar Reutersvärd; modern drawing by László Németh

A triangle of blocks recalls Reutersvärd’s pioneering impossible figure.

Score 0
The Librarian — A learned figure assembled from books and the equipment of reading.

The Librarian

Giuseppe Arcimboldo

A learned figure assembled from books and the equipment of reading.

Score 0
Enlarged image from the selected gallery entry